diff --git a/res/css/views/rooms/_VoiceRecordComposerTile.scss b/res/css/views/rooms/_VoiceRecordComposerTile.scss
index 5501ab343e..8c13018c51 100644
--- a/res/css/views/rooms/_VoiceRecordComposerTile.scss
+++ b/res/css/views/rooms/_VoiceRecordComposerTile.scss
@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@ limitations under the License.
             height: 10px;
             position: absolute;
             left: 12px; // 12px from the left edge for container padding
-            top: 18px; // vertically center (middle align with clock)
+            top: 16px; // vertically center (middle align with clock)
             border-radius: 10px;
         }
     }
diff --git a/src/audio/Playback.ts b/src/audio/Playback.ts
index 33d346629a..9dad828a79 100644
--- a/src/audio/Playback.ts
+++ b/src/audio/Playback.ts
@@ -38,17 +38,9 @@ function makePlaybackWaveform(input: number[]): number[] {
     // First, convert negative amplitudes to positive so we don't detect zero as "noisy".
     const noiseWaveform = input.map(v => Math.abs(v));
 
-    // Next, we'll resample the waveform using a smoothing approach so we can keep the same rough shape.
-    // We also rescale the waveform to be 0-1 for the remaining function logic.
-    const resampled = arrayRescale(arraySmoothingResample(noiseWaveform, PLAYBACK_WAVEFORM_SAMPLES), 0, 1);
-
-    // Then, we'll do a high and low pass filter to isolate actual speaking volumes within the rescaled
-    // waveform. Most speech happens below the 0.5 mark.
-    const filtered = resampled.map(v => clamp(v, 0.1, 0.5));
-
-    // Finally, we'll rescale the filtered waveform (0.1-0.5 becomes 0-1 again) so the user sees something
-    // sensible. This is what we return to keep our contract of "values between zero and one".
-    return arrayRescale(filtered, 0, 1);
+    // Then, we'll resample the waveform using a smoothing approach so we can keep the same rough shape.
+    // We also rescale the waveform to be 0-1 so we end up with a clamped waveform to rely upon.
+    return arrayRescale(arraySmoothingResample(noiseWaveform, PLAYBACK_WAVEFORM_SAMPLES), 0, 1);
 }
 
 export class Playback extends EventEmitter implements IDestroyable {
diff --git a/src/components/views/audio_messages/LiveRecordingWaveform.tsx b/src/components/views/audio_messages/LiveRecordingWaveform.tsx
index 9c33889884..73e18626fe 100644
--- a/src/components/views/audio_messages/LiveRecordingWaveform.tsx
+++ b/src/components/views/audio_messages/LiveRecordingWaveform.tsx
@@ -17,8 +17,7 @@ limitations under the License.
 import React from "react";
 import { IRecordingUpdate, RECORDING_PLAYBACK_SAMPLES, VoiceRecording } from "../../../audio/VoiceRecording";
 import { replaceableComponent } from "../../../utils/replaceableComponent";
-import { arrayFastResample } from "../../../utils/arrays";
-import { percentageOf } from "../../../utils/numbers";
+import { arrayFastResample, arraySeed } from "../../../utils/arrays";
 import Waveform from "./Waveform";
 import { MarkedExecution } from "../../../utils/MarkedExecution";
 
@@ -48,18 +47,14 @@ export default class LiveRecordingWaveform extends React.PureComponent<IProps, I
     constructor(props) {
         super(props);
         this.state = {
-            waveform: [],
+            waveform: arraySeed(0, RECORDING_PLAYBACK_SAMPLES),
         };
     }
 
     componentDidMount() {
         this.props.recorder.liveData.onUpdate((update: IRecordingUpdate) => {
-            const bars = arrayFastResample(Array.from(update.waveform), RECORDING_PLAYBACK_SAMPLES);
-            // The incoming data is between zero and one, but typically even screaming into a
-            // microphone won't send you over 0.6, so we artificially adjust the gain for the
-            // waveform. This results in a slightly more cinematic/animated waveform for the
-            // user.
-            this.waveform = bars.map(b => percentageOf(b, 0, 0.50));
+            // The incoming data is between zero and one, so we don't need to clamp/rescale it.
+            this.waveform = arrayFastResample(Array.from(update.waveform), RECORDING_PLAYBACK_SAMPLES);
             this.scheduledUpdate.mark();
         });
     }
diff --git a/src/components/views/rooms/VoiceRecordComposerTile.tsx b/src/components/views/rooms/VoiceRecordComposerTile.tsx
index 8323320520..7949f41784 100644
--- a/src/components/views/rooms/VoiceRecordComposerTile.tsx
+++ b/src/components/views/rooms/VoiceRecordComposerTile.tsx
@@ -209,9 +209,9 @@ export default class VoiceRecordComposerTile extends React.PureComponent<IProps,
                 'mx_VoiceRecordComposerTile_stop': this.state.recorder?.isRecording,
             });
 
-            let tooltip = _t("Record a voice message");
+            let tooltip = _t("Send voice message");
             if (!!this.state.recorder) {
-                tooltip = _t("Stop the recording");
+                tooltip = _t("Stop recording");
             }
 
             let stopOrRecordBtn = <AccessibleTooltipButton
@@ -229,7 +229,7 @@ export default class VoiceRecordComposerTile extends React.PureComponent<IProps,
         if (this.state.recorder && this.state.recordingPhase !== RecordingState.Uploading) {
             deleteButton = <AccessibleTooltipButton
                 className='mx_VoiceRecordComposerTile_delete'
-                title={_t("Delete recording")}
+                title={_t("Delete")}
                 onClick={this.onCancel}
             />;
         }
diff --git a/src/i18n/strings/en_EN.json b/src/i18n/strings/en_EN.json
index 70bb1e436b..51f015d98c 100644
--- a/src/i18n/strings/en_EN.json
+++ b/src/i18n/strings/en_EN.json
@@ -1702,9 +1702,8 @@
     "We were unable to access your microphone. Please check your browser settings and try again.": "We were unable to access your microphone. Please check your browser settings and try again.",
     "No microphone found": "No microphone found",
     "We didn't find a microphone on your device. Please check your settings and try again.": "We didn't find a microphone on your device. Please check your settings and try again.",
-    "Record a voice message": "Record a voice message",
-    "Stop the recording": "Stop the recording",
-    "Delete recording": "Delete recording",
+    "Send voice message": "Send voice message",
+    "Stop recording": "Stop recording",
     "Error updating main address": "Error updating main address",
     "There was an error updating the room's main address. It may not be allowed by the server or a temporary failure occurred.": "There was an error updating the room's main address. It may not be allowed by the server or a temporary failure occurred.",
     "There was an error updating the room's alternative addresses. It may not be allowed by the server or a temporary failure occurred.": "There was an error updating the room's alternative addresses. It may not be allowed by the server or a temporary failure occurred.",